1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed toward the field of medical informatics, and more particularly toward a user interface for a medical informatics system.
2. Art Background
Radiology equipment (e.g., CT scanners, MRI scanners, X-Ray etc.) is in wide spread use as diagnostic tools in hospitals today. Traditionally, radiology departments utilize equipment, such as X-Ray machines, that generate images on film. Typically, when collecting information from a diagnostic tool, several medical images are generated for subsequent analysis and diagnosis of the patient""s medical condition. This collection of medical images may be referred to as a xe2x80x9cstudy.xe2x80x9d For example, a study from an X-Ray machine may consist of a number of X-Rays taken from different perspectives of the target area. It is the totality of the study that the physician uses to make a diagnosis of the patient.
It has become more common in the medical field for images to be stored, distributed, and viewed in digital form using computer technology. Currently, Picture Archival and Communication Systems or PACS have been in widespread use. In a typical PACS application, image data obtained by imaging equipment such as CT scanners or MRI scanners are stored in the form of computer data files. The size of a data file for an image varies depending on the size and resolution of the image. For example, a typical image file for a diagnostic-quality chest X-ray is on the order of 10 megabytes (MB). The image data files are usually formatted in a xe2x80x9cstandardxe2x80x9d or widely accepted format. In the medical field, one widely used image format is known as DICOM. The DICOM image data files are distributed over computer networks to specialized viewing stations capable of converting the image data to high-resolution images on a CRT display.
The digitized medical images potentially provide to the medical community advancements due to the ability to electronically store, transfer and view digitized images over geographically disparate areas. However, prior art systems for viewing the digital data do not comport with how physicians traditionally operate. Physicians have become accustomed to working with analog film. First, to conduct a diagnoses using traditional film, the physician chooses the films for a patient that will aid in the analysis of the patient""s condition. From the selected films, the physician organizes the films in a manner suitable to conduct the analysis and subsequent diagnoses. Specifically, the film is placed on a light board for viewing. The light board projects light through the film so that the physician may read the image imposed on the film. Prior to analyzing a study, a physician may organize the physical sheets of film on the light board in a manner suitable for conducting the analysis. It may be advantageous for a physician to place, on the light board, two sheets of film next to one another in order to analyze a condition relative to the two films. For example, the first film may comprise data taken at an earlier date, whereas the second film may contain data recently obtained. By placing the films side-by-side, the physician may analyze how a particular condition has changed over time.
Prior art systems for viewing digitized medical images do not provide a means to operate in a manner in which physicians work. As illustrated by the above example, using these prior art systems, a physician is not permitted to effectively organize medical images in a manner in which physicians may organize traditional analog films. Accordingly, it is desirable to develop a user interface for a medical informatics system that emulates the way a physician works by providing maximum flexibility for the physician to select, organize, navigate and subsequently analyze medical images. Furthermore, prior art systems for viewing digitized medical images display static images, in that the user is not permitted to navigate (i.e., pan or zoom the original image). Accordingly, it is also desirable to generate a system that permits xe2x80x9cdynamicxe2x80x9d interaction with medical images to provide the physician with maximum flexibility to interact with the image.
A user interface for a medical informatics system permits a physician to work with digitized medical images in a manner that the physician is accustomed to working with traditional analog film. The user interface provides the user to ability to select studies, which consist of medical images and series, for patients. In one embodiment, the user selects studies on the user interface through a patient browser view. After selecting the studies, the user may then organize the studies as well as the images/series within the studies, including resizing the studies and the images/series within a study. The user may also navigate around the images/series. Specifically, the user has the ability to pan and zoom images to view portions of an image at various resolutions. Furthermore, the user of the user interface may analyze the image by selecting to view the image in detail in a large floating window. In one embodiment, the organization, navigation, and analysis of studies and images/series are performed through a patient canvas view.
In one embodiment, the patient canvas view is displayed in a standard orientation such that each horizontal scroll bar contains a study. For this embodiment, each study displayed on the patient canvas view is broken out left to right into one or more series for CT/MR and one or more images for CD/DR. The user, using a horizontal scroll bar is permitted to scroll left and right to display the series/images contained within the study. Multiple studies are laid out from top to bottom on the patient canvas view. A single vertical scroll bar is provided to permit the user to scroll, in a vertical direction (i.e., from top to bottom), to display the multiple studies. Using the user interface, the user may organize studies by re-arranging the relative vertical positions among the studies. Thus, the studies (i.e., the window encompassing the studies) may be re-sized to any user-desired size. The user may also use the features of the patient canvas view to organize images, within a study, by re-arranging the relative horizontal positions among the images/series within a study via a drag and drop operation.